Places to visit in the US?

[Britboater]

Right, here's a challenge.

I'm an international snow bird, just some middle aged Limey who gets past immigration to stop in your country for five months a year, its the Floridian sun that we really sort after but even that can get a little hum drum.
My good wife and I are looking at getting out and about in your wonderful country and I'm looking for any suggestions. The only criteria is limited to three hours or so by air travel time from Tampa or Fort Myers.
These two airports reach pretty much all over the US but big cities are not our thing, we want to see real America and any interesting hot spots.
I appreciate the weather further north is mid winter but a good, dry, cold day can be fun and without issue.

 

[djetok]

Big Bend National Park
https://visitbigbend.com/ from the link

 

[Julian]

Right, here's a challenge.

I'm an international snow bird, just some middle aged Limey who gets past immigration to stop in your country for five months a year, its the Floridian sun that we really sort after but even that can get a little hum drum.
My good wife and I are looking at getting out and about in your wonderful country and I'm looking for any suggestions. The only criteria is limited to three hours or so by air travel time from Tampa or Fort Myers.
These two airports reach pretty much all over the US but big cities are not our thing, we want to see real America and any interesting hot spots.
I appreciate the weather further north is mid winter but a good, dry, cold day can be fun and without issue.

You'll need to give us some idea about what sorts of things you like to do! Hiking? Biking? Theater? Historic Landmarks? Natural Wonders? Beaches? Night Life? Museums? Art? etc

Some of the obvious ones come to mind - but you say big cities are not your thing...so perhaps not:

1. NY City - WTC tower and memorial, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Theater shows
2. Washington DC - All the monuments and museums....could spend days there
3. Chicago - Museums, Sears Tower, John Handcock building, Navy Pier, Grant Park concerts, Improv, Blues bars

Non-big city things:

1. Asheville NC - often described as the San Francisco of the East. Lots of wine and craft beer. In the foot hills and tons of hiking. Biltmore estate.
2. Appalachian Trail - hiking galore. Or drive it for the views.
3. Mammoth Cave - there are a number of different caves in the East.
4. Zion National Park (when it re-opens)....I thought this was way more impressive and fun than the Grand Canyon (but the GC is interesting too).

 

[2kwik4u]

3hrs by air doesn't get you too far really. Unless you are talking about taking 2-3 segments at 3hrs a piece, then you can get just about anywhere on the continent.

Some places I've been that I really enjoyed and will return too.
- Avenue of the Giants in Northern California. The scale of these trees cannot be explained properly in text or pictures. You gotta go see it for yourself.
- Grand Canyon. Again, the scale is just mesmerizing.
- Smokey Mountains in the fall. The trees and colors are amazing. If you're into a driving experience, rent a convertible and hit the Tail of the Dragon.
- St Louis. The view from the top of the Arch is cool. Catch a MLB game while you're there. Tour the Budweiser factory. Grants Farms is neat too.
- Washington D.C. Get a hotel on the outskirts of town and ride the Metro into downtown. Smithsonian is awesome. Vietnam memorial wall is eerily quite for being the middle of the city. Lots of interesting things to do here. Wait until our government gets it head out of it's butt and reopens before you go here.
- Las Vegas. You have to see this place in person at night to really appreciate it. TONS of things to do, even if you don't gamble/drink. Lots of first rate shows, great accommodations. Can get pretty crowded though.
- San Francisco. Another big city, and I know you said you don't really like that, but it really is a neat place. The Golden Gate bridge is cool to walk across, and a tour of Alcatraz is neat. Napa and Sonoma valley are within an hours drive, and have a VERY Mediterranean feel to them in both scenery and atmosphere.
- Key West. Similar to where you are in weather, but the atmosphere here during the night life is pretty cool.
- Louisville, KY. I live here, so it's a shamless plug, however we have the bourbon trail that can easily take you 2-3 days to complete. Lots of night life. The KY Derby in May which is quite the spectacle, and tons of horse parks to the near east. Louisville Slugger factory is here as well, they have great tours. Ride a riverboat cruise in the evening on the Belle of Louisville. If you come the week before Derby (late April) the town is almost shut down because everyone is out at the festivites. TONS of events that week.

If you're the active sort, I've also taken a couple long distance bicycle tours (Louisville to Philadelphia, and Seattle to San Francisco). I can not oversell how great these were. Took a years training to be "ready" for each of these trips, but the ability to observe your surroundings at a leisurely pace is unparalleled IMO. I also met some of the most "real" people ever on these trips. Stopping in TINY little towns for lunch at a small roadside diner, or just saying HI at a stoplight really immerses you into the location. My bucket list has a self-supported cross country bicycle tour on it. Gonna have to work hard to stay in shape enough to do that when I'm 60+.

Hope that helps.

 

[Julian]

If you like drinking and music (of all kinds), then Nashville is a must! I'm not a country music fan - I loved it there. You can hop from one bar to another and catch so much good live music its incredible.

 

[jim r wisco]

Albuquerque.

Rent a Harley at the only Albuquerque Harley dealership.

Ride up to Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Telluride Co. Back down to Cortez, Four Corners, Farmington, Albuquerque.

Or,

Rent a car, and do the same route.

Summertime, sorry!

Anyway. Hang out in Albuquerque. Drive S down 25 to White Sands and Las Cruces. Might as well get a Steak in Juarez, Mx.

 

[Britboater]

Nashville is on the list, numerous folks have mentioned it as place to go, direct flight too, not big drinkers but big music lovers.

All above noted and Googling

History, art, museums, sightseeing, good walks as hiking may be weather limiting. What we're thinking is utilising our regional airport, taking off for a few days, renting a car and getting out and visit smaller towns, having an evening at independent restaurants and talking to local folk, finding any parks or local attractions which won't be big enough to draw mass tourists but interesting for visitors.
I supose the real question should be, if you had some friends visit for a weekend, where would you take them, that good restaurant/bar, local museum, local attraction etc.

 

[J-RAD]

If traveling to DC to tour the museums or any of the National Parks check for closures. Many are not open or running on minimal staff due to the current government shutdown.

 

[PEARCE]

You said music and food I instantly think Memphis and New Orleans. If going to Memphis I'd recommend staying downtown at the Peabody Hotel. It's famous for the ducks swimming in the fountain in the lobby. It's an old, large and beautiful hotel. I don't have any recommendations for lodging in the Big Easy, but I do know you want to be close to the French Quarter area for a lot of the action. There's a lot of history in both cities.

 

[Whisky]

Lots of awesome suggestions, here are two more!

It would be a bit of a stretch on your 3 hour limit (but not by much) but if you haven't spent much time in the mountains, fly into Calgary Canada and visit Banff, it's quintessentially Canadian and one of my favourite places!

I have also always really enjoyed time spent in Texas, my favourite would likely be San Antonio, the Riverwalk and surrounding Hill Country is one of my favourite places on earth! Plus if you like driving, you could pretty easily also hit up Austin for some amazing buildings, epic BBQ and incredible bar hopping (if that's your thing). If you make it all the way up to Austin, I would also recommend driving a bit further and checking out the Fort Worth stockyards, the world's oldest indoor rodeo, and the world's largest honkeytonk (Yes, real live bull riding INSIDE the bar.... What is more Texas than that!?)

 

[Dixie Highway]

I am in love with Texas, in my opinion it’s about as close to heaven as you can get. San Antonio is awesome, the river walk is a fun evening. Brisket in Lockhart at Black’s BBQ can’t be beat. Houston, if you go during the rodeo (I think it’s in February). If you like scenery the Hill country is beautiful. Honestly, I was born and raised in Chicago and can’t wait to leave, once my kids are grown I can finally say ”You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas”.